


A Dream with an Anklet Attached

by Tsorin



Category: Tales of Vesperia
Genre: F/M, Gen, white collar au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-13
Updated: 2017-02-13
Packaged: 2018-09-24 02:46:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9696293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tsorin/pseuds/Tsorin
Summary: "I'll admit I've done a lot of things in my life that I'm not proud of. No, no, that's not true, I'm proud of most of them."White Collar AU with Yuri as the dashing art thief and Flynn as the persistent FBI agent. Pretty much everyone will show up at some point eventually. Tags will update as more chapters are added.





	1. Pilot

**Author's Note:**

> For the most part, these will lift pretty heavily from the White Collar script. The title of the Chapter is the White Collar episode the chapter lifts from.

Flynn is surreptitiously going through his wife’s things when his phone rings. He thinks about ignoring it, but it’s Leblanc and he wouldn’t call so early without a good reason.

“Yeah, this is Scifo,” Flynn says. He gives up for now and starts to go for his jacket.

“It’s Lablanc. Lowell’s anklet is activated. Is he with you?”

Flynn freezes. He’s only had Yuri out for less than a week and already the man is breaking the rules. He’s furious and part of him feels bitter for expecting more out of an ex-con.

“No,” he says, throwing his jacket over his shoulders. “I’ll be right in.”

He checks his holster and gun as Leblanc continues to update him, saying that Rita is currently pulling Lowell’s tracking data.

He takes the stairs two or three at a time.

“Estelle,” he says, “I’ve got to go, Yuri’s outside his radius…”

Flynn trails off at the sight in his living room. Estelle and Yuri are sitting there together, bent over… was that the copy of the bond? When had Yuri gotten the chance to lift that? They look up as he makes his way downstairs.

“Flynn, you still there?” Leblanc asks in his ear.

“Yes. It’s fine. Lowell is with me.”

“You’re sure?”

Is he really sure?

“Yes,” Flynn says, a bit reluctantly. He holds the phone to his ear a second longer, the dial tone giving him a minute to think.

“Good morning, Flynn,” Estelle says, as though nothing at all is strange.

“You’re on my couch,” Flynn says, cutting off Yuri’s greeting.

Yuri doesn’t appear to be phased. He flashes Flynn his trademark smile, which automatically puts Flynn on edge.

“Yeah, I came to talk to you, and frankly Flynn, I have to say I’m surprised you have such an amazing wife.”

“Yeah, I like her.” Yuri isn’t apologetic in the slightest. Flynn turns his glare up a notch. “Get off my couch.”

“We’re just chatting,” Estelle insists.

“Chatting. How did you get here?”

“Cab,” Yuri says with a ‘how dumb are you Flynn’ look on his face.

“You activated your tracker!” Flynn says. “You are in my house, on my couch, with my wife!”

Repede trots in and immediately makes his way over to Yuri.

“Hey Repede,” Yuri says, reaching down to give the dog a scratch.

“And you’re petting my dog,” Flynn says. Repede rolls over to allow Yuri better access and Flynn glares at him too. Traitor!

“Flynn, did you really put Estelle under surveillance before you asked her out?”

It had been a moment of weakness that Flynn had tried to purge forever from his memory, made more difficult by the fact that his wife loved to share the story any chance she got.

“Flynn. I underestimated you,” Yuri says.

“You told him.”

“Oh, he said he wanted to make sure I wasn’t seeing anybody else. Honey, I think it’s cute!”

It would be easier if he could get mad at Estelle, Flynn thought. But that sweet smile of hers made him cave every time.

“I think it’s adorable.”

Yuri though. Yuri Flynn could deal with.

“I’m putting you back in prison.”

He actually takes out his phone and pretends to dial. Yuri’s face pales a bit and Flynn feels a flash of success. Maybe he can get used to working with Yuri.

Yuri’s voice is a little strained when he says, “I know who the Dutchman is.” Flynn almost feels bad about it. But Yuri had to learn that he couldn’t simply flaunt the terms of his release whenever he felt like it.

“Enlighten me.”

“Yeager Regaey. He’s an art restorer. One of the best in the world, but his own work never took off. He’s particularly good at _Goya_ restorations. That’s what this is, Flynn. The bond is him showing off.”

Flynn meets Yuri’s gaze and tried to figure out how trustworthy this information is. And how much of it would be admissible in court.

“Interesting theory,” Flynn says. “But how do we prove it?”

“He signed it.”

At Esetelle’s encouragement, Yuri pushes the bond into Flynn’s reach and holds a small mirror to it.

“Look at the pants on the Spanish peasant. What do you see? It’s the initials Y and R.” Flynn scoffs at it, but Yuri insists. “This bond is a masterpiece. If I’d done something this good, I would’ve signed it. The forgeries you caught me on, I signed them.”

“Where?” Flynn says. He might not be a master art forger, but he spent enough time staring at Yuri’s work – “alleged work” Yuri’s voice in his mind says cheerily – that he would have noticed a Y and an L. He’s the best at what he does for a reason.

“Look at the bank seal under polarized light sometime.”

Which, okay, would not have occurred to Flynn in the slightest. It reminds him that Yuri has a whole mountain of trade secrets that would be invaluable at the Bureau.

If only Yuri Lowell, con man extraordinaire, didn’t come along with it.

“Regaey is doing a church restoration on Third Street; we can stop by on our way in,” Yuri says. And smiles.

Flynn sighs. He can already feel the headache forming.

“Fine. Meet me in the car,” Flynn says. When it becomes apparent Yuri is not going to take the hint, Flynn follows up with, “I’m going to say good-bye to my wife now.

Yuri collects his jacket and that stupid goofy hat and shakes Estelle’s hand, smiling.

“It’s nice to meet you.”

“It was nice to meet you,” Estelle says. “After all these years.”

Flynn stops to kiss Estelle before he leaves but the look in her eye suddenly makes him worry if he hadn’t made a mistake.


	2. Vital Signs

Flynn has mostly put the whole country club issue from his mind. It was awkward and unfortunate and Yuri will never speak of it again if he knows what is good for him.

He’s more focused on the clinic records that were hopefully delivered to the office that morning when Estelle calls up the stairs, “Honey?”

He finishes his tie with the final loop, grabs his jacket, and goes downstairs.

“Yeah?”

“What is this?”

Estelle is folding the laundry. She has his jacket from the other day in her lap, and a familiar-looking business card in her hand.

Flynn feels his stomach drop.

“I was going to talk to you about that,” he says. “That… was part of an undercover job I was working. And part of the cover was that I had to talk to another woman.”

He watches Estelle carefully for her reaction. He knows that he would never do anything to hurt Estelle. He thinks Estelle knows that. He hopes so.

“You must’ve been quite the conversationalist,” Estelle says quietly, flipping the card over to see Melissa’s hand written cell number.

“I had to flirt with her so Neal could get closer to the target.”

“Isn’t it usually the other way around?”

Flynn flushes a little bit. It had surprised him too. He was comfortable with his looks, but even he had to admit that Yuri Lowell was more… conventionally attractive.

“She chose me,” he says.

“You had to seduce another woman?”

Estelle covers her face with the hand holding the card. Flynn can see her shoulders shaking, can hear the hitched breath. His heart breaks. He leans down and takes her other hand.

“No. No,” he swears. “I had– Just had drinks with her. Nothing happened, Estelle. I swear.”

Estelle continues to shake. Flynn flounders, trying to figure out what to say to reassure her. He’s never been good with these kinds of things.

Estelle’s breath hitches again. But it doesn’t sound quite like tears and when Flynn listens closer, he can hear giggling.

“Are you laughing?” he says, dumbfounded. She is, now louder than before. This is a good thing, right? “You’re laughing. You’re laughing.”

“You had to flirt?” Estelle manages between the laughs. “You _hate_ flirting!”

“I know,” Flynn says. “And now I remember why.”

Other than the fact that he got to spend the rest of his life with the most amazing woman he had ever met, the best part of being married was that it meant he _never had to flirt again for the rest of his life thank god._

“What did you say to her?” Estelle managed to get out.

“I said that she looked thirsty.” Estelle just laughed harder. “It worked!”

“Oh, please tell me there’s surveillance video of this,” Estelle said. She was trying to calm herself down and failing. “I need to see this.”

Fortunately for Flynn’s remaining dignity, rapidly vanishing in the face of his wife’s complete amusement, the phone rang, giving him an out.

“Hello?” he said.

“It’s me.” Oh crap. The only thing worse than Estelle’s amusement would be _Yuri’s_ teasing. “Wondering if you looked into that clinic yet.”

“I had the bureau put in a request for their financial records. Why?” Flynn said loudly to try and cover the sound of Estelle’s laughter.

“Why is Estelle laughing?” Yuri says on the other end of the line. He sounds a bit concerned.

“No idea,” Flynn says. Then he’s out the door and as Estelle’s laughter fades, and Flynn swears, deep in his soul, that he will do whatever it takes to keep Yuri from finding out about this.

Short of murder, of course.


	3. Out of the Box

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel a little bit awkward with the YuriSodia thing but I didn't want to blow up anyone I was particularly attached to? This pairing is not end-game so I haven't added it to the tags.

Karol balks a bit when Yuri and Judy first bring him the plans.

“This is the Italian consulate. It’s not a bank. Or a museum. It’s a little piece of a foreign country. If we had a tank, maybe. Or an air force.”

It’s hard to remember sometimes, that Karol is so much younger than him. That when they met, Karol had been younger still, but so smart and so quick on his feet. Yuri owed Karol a lot, even if Karol tried to play it off. If Karol had some reservations, Yuri usually listened to him.

But this time, it involves Sodia and there is _nothing_ Yuri won’t do to get her back.

“Well, we don’t have an air force, but the party will get us past the first line of security and into the main ballroom.” The floor plans are sitting on Yuri’s painting easel. Judy had them, of course. “There’s only one way into the inner sanctum. It’s through this security door. This door is our biggest obstacle.”

“Ah, yeah,” Karol says. “There’s no keypads, no biometrics, no lock. The only way is to be buzzed through by a guard stationed in the security room.”

“Let me worry about that,” Yuri says. He’s already got half a dozen plans in mind. It never hurts to have backups for your backups.

“Grand,” Karol says, with a roll of his eyes. He pins Yuri with a ‘please tell me you won’t do anything stupid’ stare. Yuri shrugs and smiles.

“It’ll be fine Karol. Once I’m through, there’s a long stretch of hallway monitored by a close-circuit camera. When I make it down the hallway, I can get into the vault room. Which safe is it, exactly?” he asks, turning to Judy.

“I’ll let you know,” Judy says.

It’s always been a delicate dance with Judy. Yuri trusts her, yes, but only so far. They might have had a thing, if they’d met before Yuri met Sodia. It’s not something they’ve talked about but Yuri doesn’t stop himself from admiring the way her dress lays across her hips.

Judy’s almost offered a few times, but she trust him about as much as Yuri trusts her. Yuri keeps secrets, Judy keeps secrets, and those secrets are like a Berlin Wall between them.

“And when I find the safe,” Yuri continues, focusing on the task at hand, “all I have to do is crack it.”

“It’s high security and torch-resistant,” Judy warns.

“You’ll need heavy metal to get through the fire-resistant plate,” Karol warns. How are you gonna get that through security?”

“One thing at a time, Karol. All the plans in the world won’t help us if we can’t get invitations to that party.”

“I’m looking for a man, without a plus one,” Judy says. She flashes a list of party guests. “I’m leaning towards this gentleman, Ignacious Barden.”

“Why him?” Yuri asks. Judy could have her pick and knows it.

“He’s a duke,” Judy says. “I’ve always wanted to dance with a duke.”

“Good,” Yuri says. “Boss, you submit your resume yet?”

“Yep!” Karol says. “The catering company received it this morning. As the proprietor of the Greatest Cake bakery, I fully expect a glowing reference.”

Yuri wonders what age Karol put on the application. He’s looked about twelve as long as Yuri has known him. He’s gotten a bit taller, but that’s it. Maybe.

“What’s your in?” Judy asks.

“I’m planning to make a very generous donation to the people of Italy,” Yuri says. The sculpting materials are on their way. Discretely, of course.

There is a knock at the door. Karol scrambles to cover the floor plans. Judy struts over to the fridge and starts digging around inside while Yuri opens the door.

It’s Hanks, and the look on his face has Yuri on edge.

“Yuri, _company_ is on the way,” Hanks says.

Yuri thanks whatever god is looking out for him for Hanks. The man is a miracle.

“Thanks,” Yuri says just as Flynn reaches the top of the stairs and shoves his way inside.

Yuri gives Hanks a quick smile before shutting the door behind Flynn.

“Oh, look at this. All the usual suspects in one place. Makes my job much easier. What’re you guys up to?” Flynn is in full-on Special Agent mode, which just makes Yuri’s hackles rise.

Not that he was going to tell Flynn about anything until after the fact anyway. Maybe not even then.

“We were just leaving,” Judy says. Karol follows silently behind her.

“I bet you were!” Flynn calls after them.

Then it’s just Yuri and Flynn. Flynn has that look on his face, and oh here we go.

“I know you met with Cumore,” Flynn says. “And now Judith and your little buddy are here. You’ve got your whole crew to steal the box.” He pauses, takes a breath to calm himself down. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

“Sure. You’re wrong.”

“I don’t understand you. I gave you a shot at a better life.”

And Yuri’s sure Flynn really believes it. It’s been… nice, having a place to go every night. And the cases have helped take the edge off, but Yuri’s been chaffing at his bonds for months now.

“It’s not the life I want,” he says honestly.

“I see,” Flynn says. “We all have our weakness. Sodia’s yours. Do the right thing, Yuri.” He goes to leave, but pauses and turns back. He catches Yuri’s eye, holds it. “You know, you’re fooling yourself if you think Sodia’s on your side.”

First Flynn, then Karol, then Judy. Yuri doesn’t want to believe them. He loves Sodia and Sodia loves him. She wouldn’t do anything to hurt him.

Why is he not as sure about this as he once was?

“Good night, Flynn,” Yuri says.

Flynn looks like he wants to argue, but he finally leaves. Yuri closes the door behind him and leans his forehead against it.

He’s finally doing this, finally going to be the one calling the shots, rather than the one being dragged around. This is what he wanted.

Isn’t it?


End file.
